Recruiting Rumor Mill: News keeps flooding in from big visits

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A ton of news is flooding in this week so Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney needed a second Recruiting Rumor Mill.

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The four-star running back from Delaware (Ohio) Rutherford B. Hayes visited Ohio State on Monday and was offered by the Buckeyes. It’s definitely a huge one and “every Ohio kid’s dream” to land an offer from Ohio State.

This will end up being a battle between the Buckeyes and Miami for Akih and it’s always tough to bet against the Buckeyes.

LSU is making a massive move for the four-star quarterback from Celina, Texas, especially after he met the entire coaching staff during his weekend visit and feels like a clear priority. Bentley talks with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan every night and the success LSU has had at quarterback is a major bonus.

Visits to Georgia, Ohio State and Florida State are coming up and Oklahoma is still very much in the picture, but LSU looks great in his recruitment now.

Tennessee remains a favorite for the former South Carolina commit but a weekend visit to Missouri made a major impact as the Tigers remain a serious contender for the four-star linebacker from Newnan, Ga.

“Everything” stood out to Colton during his visit, from how the linebackers play, to the defensive play style to the scheme to how he bonds with position coach Derek Nicholson.

Missouri is right there at the top along with Tennessee as Florida State, Florida, Georgia and others are involved.

An in-state battle with Alabama leading Auburn might be taking place with the top-rated running back but Texas is making a run at him again and now Florida “made a push up” after his recent visit to Gainesville.

The four-star running back from Jackson, Ala., loved how UF coach Billy Napier and position coach Jabbar Juluke related to and coached the players. The Gators have some work to do but if they can keep up their momentum then it could be interesting.

Georgia is the front-runner for the 2027 four-star linebacker from Raleigh (N.C.) Millbrook and the Bulldogs will be tough to beat. But Ohio State, North Carolina and now Notre Dame will get a look after its offer on Monday.

It was a “huge honor” to get the Irish offer but he needs to visit South Bend to see if ND becomes a serious contender or not.

LSU is the new front-runner “as of now” for the five-star receiver after a great visit to Baton Rouge in recent days. But this one isn’t so clear-cut yet.

Feaster also loved his recent visit to Alabama and then Texas A&M is pushing very hard along with USC, Oregon, Miami and others. But the Tigers have the edge right now for Feaster, who recently reclassified from 2027 to 2026.

North Carolina, Florida, Ole Miss and Florida State are the four top contenders for Gordon, who had been committed to Alabama and UCF earlier in his recruitment.

Watch for the Gators to make a serious move here since the four-star defensive back from Jackson, Ala., stays in touch with coach Billy Napier “all day, every day.”

The 2027 high four-star quarterback from Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian loved his recent visit to LSU, talked with Zorin Istvan from Tiger Life and really got a great feel for how things will be if he ends up in Baton Rouge. But this is also a tricky situation. LSU wants to keep Houston in its pocket but the top target is five-star Elijah Haven from Baton Rouge (La.) Dunham.

Oklahoma could still be the team to beat for Houston with Texas and Texas A&M right there. If Haven goes elsewhere then LSU could move up very quickly for Houston but not yet.

The 2028 athlete from St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet took game-day visits to Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri this past season and Janes was back in Columbia in recent days.

What Janes loves early on with the Tigers is that they’re telling him they still have a chip on their shoulder and want to make a national championship run. Missouri definitely has his attention but Janes is visiting Ole Miss this weekend and possibly Alabama as well.

A battle between Penn State and Pitt is shaping up for the 2027 four-star cornerback from Pittsburgh (Pa.) Imani Christian Academy and Jenkins was recently at the Panthers’ first spring practice.

The local standout loved how competitive everyone was at the workout and how the coaching staff there makes it clear he’s a major priority.

Oregon has been considered the clear front-runner in Fa’alave-Johnson’s recruitment and the Ducks could still be tough to beat with USC and many others involved but a new offer from Notre Dame “will definitely shake things up.”

The San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic standout is now very interested in the Irish and will talk a lot more with the coaching staff as Notre Dame will be one of the few programs he focuses on moving forward.

The message from coach Kirby Smart is that Jones is a top priority and that meant a lot to the four-star safety from Marietta (Ga.) Sprayberry as he loved watching practice and seeing the energy from the players and the coaches.

The Bulldogs are right up near the top with Florida, Georgia Tech and Duke also battling it out for him.

A connection to Will Campbell could lead Krempin to LSU. The two talked during a recent visit to Baton Rouge, they have FaceTimed, Campbell has given the four-star offensive tackle from Prosper, Texas, advice about his recruitment and how to move forward with everything and their fathers played together at Kilgore JC.

Plus, Krempin just had an awesome visit to LSU where Campbell told him he’d be a great fit in the Tigers’ system.

SMU, Clemson, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan and a host of others are involved but LSU is really interesting here.

Oklahoma is definitely high on the list and Florida has made some serious in-roads with the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy edge rusher but Ohio State gave him something to seriously consider after visiting in recent days.

Kreul loves the new additions on staff as he spent time with Matt Patricia and Tony Washington Jr. and then position coach Larry Johnson told Kreul he’s an elite talent “that you don’t see very often.”

If the Buckeyes can keep up the momentum, they might have something here.

LSU has been the front-runner in McCoy’s recruitment but after he visited Florida and had an “amazing” time and was “lost for words” the Gators are now considered a very serious contender in his recruitment.

The Tupelo, Miss., four-star defensive end was blown away by Florida and how the staff treated him. By the end, McCoy felt like he belonged there which is only good news for the Gators.

The four-star defensive end from Denton (Texas) Guyer had been committed to Oklahoma but backed off that pledge and was recently at Georgia for a spring practice. It was made clear to Rowe that he’s “their guy” for 2027 and he loves the development in Athens along with the urgency in practice.

Georgia is right there at the top for Rowe with Texas, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas A&M and Nebraska.

The four-star tight end from Nashville (Tenn.) Donelson Christian Academy remains committed to Tennessee but there is going to be a lot of competition to keep him as Sneed loved a recent visit to Colorado and was at North Carolina this week as well.

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s NFL experience and work with tight ends in his career is a big deal to Sneed, who thought everyone was really authentic in Boulder.

Ole Miss, Miami, Tennessee and UCLA are the others to watch.

Georgia is going to make a serious push for the 2027 four-star defensive end from Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy and seeing the intensity at a recent spring practice definitely helped the Bulldogs move even higher.

But South Carolina should definitely be watched closely and then Tennessee and Auburn round out his early top four.

USC is going to be tough to beat for the five-star cornerback from Gardena (Calif.) Serra as there’s been a lot of talk about staying closer to home but LSU definitely intrigued him over the weekend. Williams was in town for the Battle tournament and went to Baton Rouge where he loves the DB tradition there. Even though he didn’t get a chance to talk with position coach Corey Raymond (who was attending a funeral) the coaching staff made it clear that he’s a top priority if he wants to come play in the SEC.

During talks with coach Ryan Day and new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Webb was told because of his tackling and ball skills he could be used in the same way as Caleb Downs and that was a big selling point during his visit.

The four-star from Frisco (Texas) Panther Creek got to spend a lot of time with position coach Matt Guerrieri, too, and loved how he was working with his players.

Ohio State, LSU and Michigan are the three front-runners in his recruitment.